31By faith we understand that the 2auniverse has been framed by the 3bword of God, so that what is seen has not come into cbeing out of things which appear.

4 By faith aAbel offered to God a 1more excellent sacrifice than bCain, through which he obtained the ctestimony that he was righteous, God dtestifying to his gifts; and through 2faith, though he has died, he still espeaks.

5 By faith aEnoch was translated so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he obtained the btestimony that he had been well pleasing to God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to 1be well pleasing toHim, for he who acomes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who 2bdiligently seek Him.

7 By faith aNoah, having been divinely instructed concerning things not yet seen and being moved by pious fear, bprepared an ark for the salvation of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became cheir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

8 By faith aAbraham, being called, obeyed to bgo out unto a place which he was to creceive as an inheritance; and he went out, 1not knowing where he was going.

9 By faith he dwelt as a foreigner in the aland of promise as in a foreign land, making his home in btents with Isaac and Jacob, the fellow cheirs of the same promise;

10 For he eagerly waited for the 1acity which has the bfoundations, whose Architect and Builder is cGod.

11 By faith also aSarah herself received power to conceive seed, even beyond the season of age, since she considered Him bfaithful who promised.

12 Therefore also there were born of one, and that of him who had become adead, asmany as even the 1bstars of heaven in multitude and as the 1csand by the 2seashore innumerable.

13 All athese died 1in faith, bnot receiving the promises but cseeing them from afar and joyfully greeting them and confessing that they were dstrangers and 2sojourners on the earth.

14 For those who say such things make it manifest that they seek after a acountry of their own.

15 And if indeed they continued to remember that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return;

16 But as it is, they long after a better acountry, that is, a bheavenly one. Therefore God is cnot ashamed of them, to be called dtheir God, for He has prepared a ecity for them.

17 By faith Abraham, being tested, aoffered up Isaac; indeed he who gladly received the bpromises was offering up his only begotten,

34aQuenched the power of fire, bescaped the edge of the sword, were made strong in weakness, became cmighty in war, routed the armies of foreigners.

35 Women areceived their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured todeath, not accepting 1deliverance, in order that they might obtain a 2bbetter resurrection.

36 And still others underwent the trial of amockings and scourgings, even, moreover, of bonds and bimprisonment.

37 They were astoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they died by the bmurder of the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, cill treated

38 (Of 1whom the world was not worthy), wandering over adeserts and bmountains and inccaves and holes of the earth.

39 And these all, having obtained a good atestimony through their faith, did bnot obtain the promise,

40 Because God has 1provided something 2abetter for us, so that 3apart from us they would not be made perfect.

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